This information is for students affected by allegations of fraud against an education agent where the student can identify an Australian education provider they intended to enrol with or have enrolled with.

Complain to your education provider first

Students should contact the Australian education provider to resolve their case. Providers are required to have an internal complaints and appeals process where issues cannot be informally resolved. Australian providers’ contact details can be found on http://cricos.education.gov.au/.

In order for providers to help students easily, students should provide as many of the following details as possible:

evidence of a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from the provider

a letter of offer from the provider

any direct correspondence they have had with the provider through email or post

evidence of payment to the agent or provider

Your education provider should respond to your complaint

If a student lodges a complaint with the provider, the provider must start investigating the complaint within 10 working days and must take all reasonable steps to finalise the process as soon as practicable. The student must be given a written statement of the outcome, including details of the reasons for the outcome.

If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint, or the provider is unable to investigate the student’s complaint, or the student is not satisfied with the way the provider handled their complaint, the provider will refer the student to the Overseas Students Ombudsman. The Overseas Students Ombudsman can be contacted at: www.ombudsman.gov.au/making-a-complaint/overseas-students.

Information for students who cannot identify an Australian provider

This information is for students affected by allegations of fraud against an education agent where the student cannot identify an Australian education provider they intended to enrol with or have enrolled with.

Students should contact their local police authority and the Queensland Office of Fair Trading to file a complaint.